The Kentucky real estate transfer tax is codified in KRS §142.050.[1] The “value” on which the tax is computed means the full consideration paid for the real property, including any mortgage or other lien that the buyer assumes as part of the transaction. After collection, the county clerk retains 5% of the tax as a collection commission and remits the remaining 95% quarterly to the county general fund.[2] When a property straddles multiple counties, the tax is imposed only once — in the county where the majority of the property lies.[1]
1 Determine the Total Taxable Value
The tax base for Kentucky’s transfer tax is the total value of the real property being conveyed, as defined in KRS §142.050.[1] For a standard arm’s-length sale, the value is the agreed purchase price. If the buyer also assumes an existing mortgage or other encumbrance on the property, that assumed debt is added to the cash price to arrive at the total taxable value — because the statute includes “any liens” in the definition of consideration.
For gift deeds to parties who are not the grantor’s spouse, the county clerk does not accept a nominal consideration of $1 as the tax base. Instead, the clerk requires the grantor to declare the property’s fair market value, and the tax is computed on that FMV. This is the most important distinction between Kentucky’s transfer tax and simple nominal-consideration states. A gift to a spouse, however, is fully exempt — no tax is due at all, regardless of FMV.
Total Taxable Value = Sale Price (or FMV for gift deeds) + Assumed Mortgage / Liens (KRS §142.050 — “value” includes liens and encumbrances assumed by the grantee) For gifts to non-spouses: use estimated Fair Market Value as the tax base
Example A — $250,000 Standard Sale, Floyd County
A buyer purchases a home in Floyd County for $250,000. No existing mortgage is assumed.
Total Taxable Value: $250,000 + $0 = $250,000
Example B — $150,000 Sale + $50,000 Assumed Mortgage, Henderson County
A buyer pays $150,000 cash for a home in Henderson County and assumes the seller’s outstanding $50,000 mortgage, which will not be paid off at closing.
Total Taxable Value: $150,000 + $50,000 = $200,000
The $50,000 assumed mortgage raises the taxable value by $50,000 even though the buyer did not write a $50,000 check. This is a common point of confusion at Kentucky closings.
2 Check for Exemptions
Before computing any tax, the calculator checks whether the transfer qualifies for one of the twelve statutory exemptions in KRS §142.050(7)–(8).[3] An exempt transfer owes zero transfer tax, but the deed must still be recorded and the county recording fee still applies. Kentucky does not require a separate exemption affidavit form in the way Arkansas does, but the county clerk will expect the nature of the transfer to be apparent from the deed or accompanying documentation.
The twelve exemptions recognized by the calculator are:
- Transfer Between Spouses or Divorced Spouses (KRS 142.050(8)(a)) — Conveyances between husband and wife, or between former spouses pursuant to a court-entered divorce settlement or separation agreement. Fully exempt regardless of the property’s value.
- Parent-to-Child / Grandparent-to-Grandchild — Nominal Consideration (KRS 142.050(8)) — Transfers within these direct family lines for nominal consideration. Note: gifts to siblings, in-laws, friends, or other relatives outside this narrow family group are not exempt — they are taxable on the property’s fair market value.
- Government Transfer (KRS 142.050(7)(a)) — Conveyances to or from the United States government, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, any Kentucky city or county, or their agencies or instrumentalities.
- Corrective or Confirming Deed (KRS 142.050(7)(b)) — A deed that corrects a clerical error or confirms a previously recorded deed on which transfer tax was already paid. Recording fee still applies.
- Security Instrument Only (KRS 142.050(7)(c)) — An instrument given solely to provide or release security for a debt, such as a stand-alone mortgage or deed of trust. No actual transfer of beneficial ownership occurs, so no tax is due.
- Delinquent Tax Sale / Tax Deed (KRS 142.050(7)(d)) — Deeds conveying property sold at a delinquent property tax sale.
- Partition Among Co-Owners (KRS 142.050(7)(e)) — Division of jointly or co-owned property among the existing co-owners in proportion to their interests. No new consideration changes hands.
- Corporate / LLC / Partnership Reorganization (KRS 142.050(7)(f)) — Transfers in connection with a merger, consolidation, or entity conversion between corporations, LLCs, or partnerships.
- Subsidiary-to-Parent Transfer for Stock Cancellation (KRS 142.050(7)(g)) — Transfer from a subsidiary corporation to its parent in exchange for the cancellation of the subsidiary’s stock.
- Foreclosure / Voluntary Surrender in Lieu of Foreclosure (KRS 142.050(8)(b)) — Deeds executed under a judicial foreclosure judgment, or deeds voluntarily surrendered by the borrower to the secured party in lieu of formal foreclosure. Fully exempt from transfer tax.
- Dissolution Distribution to Owners (KRS 142.050(8)(c)) — Transfer by a corporation or LLC to its equity owners upon dissolution, in proportion to their ownership interest, for nominal consideration.
- Trust Transfer — Grantor Retains Beneficial Interest (KRS 142.050(8)) — Transfer to a trust where the grantor (or grantor’s spouse) retains a beneficial interest equivalent to the transferred property, and related qualifying trust transfers under later legislative additions.
Example A — Spousal Transfer (Exempt)
A husband and wife are divorcing. Per their property settlement agreement, the husband quitclaims the marital home to the wife. The property is worth $200,000.
Fully exempt — transfer tax = $0.00. KRS 142.050(8)(a) The deed must still be recorded; county recording fee of $50.00 applies (2-page deed in Floyd County).
Example B — Foreclosure Deed (Exempt)
After a judicial foreclosure on a defaulted mortgage in Henderson County, the court orders a commissioner’s deed transferring the property to the lender bank.
Fully exempt — transfer tax = $0.00. KRS 142.050(8)(b) County recording fee still applies ($50.00 for a 2-page deed).
3 Calculate the Transfer Tax
For non-exempt transfers, the tax is calculated using the ceiling method: divide the total taxable value by $500, round up to the next whole number (even for a fraction over a round $500), and multiply by $0.50.[1] The ceiling rule — “each $500 or fraction thereof” — means that a value of $500.01 is treated as two full units, costing $1.00 rather than $0.50. This is the same ceiling logic used in Arkansas, though Kentucky’s unit size is $500 rather than $1,000 and the rate is $0.50 rather than $3.30.
The effective rate is 0.10% of the sale price for most transactions, making Kentucky one of the lowest-rate transfer tax states in the country. A $300,000 home sale costs the seller just $300.00 in state transfer tax. Because no city or county may impose its own transfer tax in Kentucky, this figure is the entirety of the transfer tax obligation regardless of county.
Transfer Tax = ceil(Total Taxable Value ÷ $500) × $0.50 (“Ceiling units” — every started $500 counts as a full unit) Paid by Grantor (Seller) — KRS §142.050 Clerk retains 5% commission; remits 95% to county treasury
Example A — $250,000 Sale, Transfer Tax
Total taxable value: $250,000
Units: ceil(250,000 ÷ 500) = 500 units
Transfer Tax: 500 × $0.50 = $250.00 SELLER PAYS
Example B — $200,000 Total Value (Sale + Assumed Mortgage), Transfer Tax
Total taxable value: $200,000 (from Step 1)
Units: ceil(200,000 ÷ 500) = 400 units
Transfer Tax: 400 × $0.50 = $200.00 SELLER PAYS
Example B involves a $150,000 cash payment but a $200,000 tax base because of the $50,000 assumed mortgage. The seller pays $200.00 in transfer tax even though they only received $150,000 in cash.
4 Add the County Recording Fee
Separate from the transfer tax, the county clerk charges a recording fee for every deed. Unlike the transfer tax — which is identical in all 120 Kentucky counties — recording fees are set locally by each county clerk and can vary.[4] The transfer tax is paid to the county and primarily benefits the county treasury; the recording fee covers the clerk’s administrative cost of recording and indexing the deed in the official land records.
In practice, the fee structure across Kentucky is highly consistent. The confirmed schedule for Wayne, Floyd, Bourbon, Henderson, and Lewis counties — and the estimated schedule for the remaining counties — is:
- Base deed fee: $50.00 — covers the deed instrument for up to the first five pages.
- Additional pages: $3.00 each — for every page beyond page five.
A standard two- or three-page deed therefore costs exactly $50.00 in recording fees in most Kentucky counties. A longer deed — such as one containing a detailed legal description or multiple exhibits — will cost more once it exceeds five pages. The calculator includes an optional override so users can enter their county clerk’s confirmed current fees, since these schedules are updated periodically.
Always verify recording fees before closing. Kentucky county clerks set their own schedules and may update fees, typically effective January 1. To confirm current fees, search “[County Name] County Kentucky County Clerk recording fee schedule” or visit kycountyclerk.org to find your county clerk’s contact information and fee schedule.
Recording Fee = $50.00 (base, covers first 5 pages) + $3.00 × max(0, pages − 5) (Typical schedule confirmed for Floyd, Wayne, Henderson, Bourbon, Lewis counties) Verify with your county clerk before closing — fees vary locally
Example A — Floyd County, 3-Page Deed
3-page deed. First 5 pages are included in the base fee; no extra-page charges.
Recording fee: $50.00 (base) + $0 extra = $50.00
Example B — Henderson County, 3-Page Deed
3-page deed. Identical structure to Example A — Henderson County’s confirmed schedule matches Floyd’s.
Recording fee: $50.00 (base) + $0 extra = $50.00
5 Total and Pay at the County Clerk
The total amount due at recording is the sum of the transfer tax (Step 3) and the recording fee (Step 4). Both amounts are presented to the county clerk at the time the deed is submitted for recording. Under KRS §142.050, a deed cannot be recorded until the transfer tax has been collected — the clerk is legally required to collect the tax before affixing the recording stamp.[1] There is no separate state filing, no state form, and no later return. The entire obligation is discharged at the moment of recording.
Although the grantor (seller) bears the legal obligation for the transfer tax, in practice closing agents typically collect both the transfer tax and the recording fee as part of the seller’s closing costs and remit them to the county clerk at recording. The clerk then retains 5% of the transfer tax as a collection commission and submits quarterly reports and the remaining 95% to the county treasury.[2]
Total Due at Recording = Transfer Tax + County Recording Fee Transfer Tax paid to: County Clerk → 95% to County Treasury (5% clerk commission) No state form; no separate filing; no annual return Deed cannot be recorded until tax is collected — KRS §142.050
Example A — $250,000 Sale in Floyd County, Full Calculation
Standard taxable sale | $250,000 value | 3-page deed | No exemption
Transfer Tax: 500 units × $0.50 = $250.00 SELLER PAYS
Recording fee (3 pages, Floyd County confirmed): $50.00
Total Due at Recording = $300.00 | Effective rate: 0.1000% | No state form required
Example B — $200,000 Total Value in Henderson County, Full Calculation
$150,000 cash + $50,000 assumed mortgage = $200,000 total | 3-page deed | No exemption
Transfer Tax: 400 units × $0.50 = $200.00 SELLER PAYS
Recording fee (3 pages, Henderson County confirmed): $50.00
Total Due at Recording = $250.00 | Effective rate: 0.1000% | No state form required
Special Cases Worth Knowing
Gifts to Non-Spouses — Fair Market Value Rule
Kentucky does not allow a gift deed to a non-spouse to escape the transfer tax simply because no money changed hands. Under KRS §142.050, when the consideration is nominal (e.g. $1), the county clerk will require an estimated fair market value for the property and compute the tax on that FMV.[1] A parent transferring a home worth $200,000 to an adult child for $1.00 will owe transfer tax on $200,000 — unless the transfer qualifies as a parent-to-child nominal consideration exemption, in which case the tax is zero. The two outcomes depend entirely on whether the transfer falls within the narrow statutory family-transfer exemption. Gifts to siblings, cousins, in-laws, or friends are always taxable on FMV.
Ceiling Rounding — Every Fraction Counts
The ceiling method means the tax steps up by $0.50 for every dollar over a round multiple of $500. A sale price of $123,456.78 produces ceil(123,456.78 ÷ 500) = 247 units, yielding a tax of $123.50. A sale price of $123,500.00 produces the same 247 units and the same $123.50 tax. But a price of $123,500.01 bumps to 248 units and $124.00. In practice this rarely affects deal pricing, but it explains why the tax always ends in either $0.00 or $0.50 — those are the only two possible cents values.
Long Deeds — Extra Page Fees Add Up
The base recording fee typically covers five pages. A deed with a lengthy legal description, multiple exhibits, or a detailed survey attachment can easily run to eight or ten pages. A Floyd County 8-page deed, for example, incurs the $50.00 base fee plus 3 extra pages × $3.00 = $9.00 — for a total recording fee of $59.00. On a $123,456.78 sale, the full closing cost at the county clerk is $123.50 (transfer tax) + $59.00 (recording) = $182.50.
The Clerk’s 5% Commission
The county clerk retains 5% of the transfer tax collected as a statutory collection commission.[2] On a $250.00 transfer tax payment, the clerk keeps $12.50 and remits $237.50 to the county treasury. This commission does not affect what the seller pays — it simply determines how the revenue is split after collection. The seller writes one check (or pays one amount at closing) covering the full transfer tax, and the clerk handles the internal allocation.
Multi-County Properties
When a property straddles county lines, KRS §142.050 provides that the transfer tax is imposed only once, in the county where the majority of the property lies.[1] There is no double taxation for properties near a county border. The tax is computed on the total value of the property and paid in one county.
Rate and Exemption Reference
| Item | Rate / Amount | Basis | Authority | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Transfer Tax | $0.50 | Per $500 of value (ceiling — every fraction counts as a full $500) | KRS §142.050 | Uniform across all 120 counties. Paid by grantor (seller). Clerk retains 5% commission; 95% to county treasury. Enacted 1968; rate unchanged. |
| County Recording Fee — Base | ~$50.00 | Per deed (typically covers first 5 pages) | County clerk fee schedule | Confirmed for Floyd, Wayne, Henderson, Bourbon, and Lewis counties. Estimated for all others. Verify with your county clerk. |
| County Recording Fee — Extra Pages | ~$3.00 | Per page beyond the first 5 | County clerk fee schedule | Confirmed for Floyd and Wayne counties. Verify locally for all others. |
| Spousal / Divorce Transfer | $0.00 | Exempt | KRS 142.050(8)(a) | Transfers between spouses or former spouses per divorce settlement. Recording fee still applies. |
| Parent-to-Child / Grandparent-to-Grandchild | $0.00 | Exempt (nominal consideration) | KRS 142.050(8) | Only within these specific family lines. Gifts to other family members or friends are taxable on FMV. |
| Government Transfer | $0.00 | Exempt | KRS 142.050(7)(a) | To/from U.S. government, Commonwealth of Kentucky, cities, counties, or their agencies. |
| Foreclosure / Surrender in Lieu | $0.00 | Exempt | KRS 142.050(8)(b) | Judicial foreclosure deeds and voluntary deeds in lieu of foreclosure. |
| Corporate / LLC Reorganization | $0.00 | Exempt | KRS 142.050(7)(f)–(g) | Mergers, consolidations, entity conversions, subsidiary-parent transfers for stock cancellation. |
| Other Exemptions | $0.00 | Exempt | KRS 142.050(7)–(8) | Corrective deeds, security instruments only, delinquent tax deeds, partitions among co-owners, dissolution distributions, qualifying trust transfers. |
Filing and Payment Process
Kentucky’s transfer tax process is deliberately simple. There is no state tax form, no Department of Revenue filing, and no annual return. Everything happens at the county clerk’s office when the deed is recorded.
| Step | What Happens | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Deed presented to county clerk | Grantor (or closing agent on their behalf) submits the signed, notarized deed to the county clerk’s office for recording. | Grantor / closing agent |
| Clerk computes and collects tax | The county clerk “ascertain[s] and compute[s]” the tax based on the consideration stated in the deed (KRS §142.050). For nominal-consideration deeds, the clerk requests an FMV estimate. No recording occurs until the tax is paid. | County clerk |
| Recording fee collected | The county clerk also collects the deed recording fee at the same time. Amount depends on page count and the county’s current fee schedule. | County clerk |
| Deed recorded; clerk remits tax | After collection, the clerk records the deed in the official land records and remits 95% of the transfer tax to the county treasury quarterly, retaining 5% as a collection commission. | County clerk → County treasury |
References
- Kentucky Revised Statutes §142.050 — Real Estate Transfer Tax.
The complete statutory authority for Kentucky’s real estate transfer tax, enacted effective March 27, 1968. §142.050 imposes a tax on the grantor at the rate of $0.50 for each $500 of the property’s value or fraction thereof. “Value” is defined as the full consideration paid (including any purchase-money mortgage or liens assumed by the buyer), or the estimated market value when the property is transferred for nominal or no consideration. The county clerk computes and collects the tax before recording the deed. The tax is imposed only once per transaction, in the county where the majority of the property is located. The rate has remained at $0.50/$500 since enactment. No city or county may impose an additional transfer tax.
Kentucky Legislature: apps.legislature.ky.gov — KRS §142.050 - KRS §142.050 — Clerk’s Collection Commission (5%) and Quarterly Remittance.
Subsection of KRS §142.050 directing the county clerk to retain 5% of all transfer tax collected as a fee for collection services. The clerk remits the remaining 95% to the county general fund on a quarterly basis, together with a report of all deeds on which tax was collected during the period. This arrangement means county clerks have a direct financial incentive to ensure the tax is collected on every recorded deed. The 5% commission does not affect the grantor’s payment obligation — it is an internal allocation after collection. Quartlery reports submitted by clerks to the Department of Revenue allow the state to monitor compliance.
Kentucky Legislature: apps.legislature.ky.gov — KRS §142.050 - KRS §142.050(7)–(8) — Exemptions from Real Estate Transfer Tax (All 12 Categories).
Subsections (7) and (8) of KRS §142.050 list all transfers exempt from the real estate transfer tax. Subsection (7) covers: government transfers (7)(a); corrective/confirming deeds (7)(b); security instruments only (7)(c); delinquent tax deeds (7)(d); partitions among co-owners (7)(e); corporate/LLC/partnership reorganizations — mergers, consolidations, conversions (7)(f); subsidiary-to-parent transfers for stock cancellation (7)(g). Subsection (8) covers: spousal and divorce transfers (8)(a); foreclosure and voluntary surrender in lieu (8)(b); dissolution distributions to owners in proportion to interest (8)(c); and qualifying trust transfers where the grantor retains a beneficial interest. Exempt deeds are still recorded and still owe the county recording fee; only the transfer tax is waived.
Kentucky Legislature: apps.legislature.ky.gov — KRS §142.050 - Kentucky County Clerk Recording Fee Schedules — Floyd, Wayne, Henderson, Bourbon, Lewis Counties.
Recording fees for deeds are set by each of Kentucky’s 120 county clerks and are not governed by a statewide statute. Confirmed fee schedules show a base deed fee of $50.00 covering the first five pages, with $3.00 per additional page, for Floyd County (effective 1/1/2020), Wayne County, Henderson County, Bourbon County, and Lewis County. These five counties represent a geographically and economically diverse cross-section of Kentucky and provide confidence that the $50/$3 structure is widespread, though individual counties may differ. Fees are typically updated effective January 1 and should be verified annually before closing.
Henderson County Clerk: hendersoncountyclerk.org · Floyd County Clerk: floydcountyclerk.com · Kentucky County Clerks Association: kycountyclerk.org - Lewis County Clerk — KRS §142.050 Rate Confirmation.
The Lewis County Clerk’s official guidance on the real estate transfer tax confirms: “Transfer tax is collected on the consideration in the deed per KRS 142.050. The tax is computed at $.50 per $500 value or fraction thereof.” This plain-language statement from a county clerk directly confirms the ceiling-unit rule: any portion of $500 counts as a full $500 for tax purposes. This is one of several county-level confirmations that the $0.50/$500 ceiling formula, exactly as encoded in the calculator, is applied consistently across Kentucky’s 120 counties.
Lewis County Clerk’s office — KRS §142.050 guidance (on file) - Henderson County Clerk — Recording Cannot Proceed Without Tax Payment.
Henderson County Clerk’s fee schedule and FAQ explicitly state that a deed cannot be recorded unless the real estate transfer tax has been collected. This confirms that payment is a prerequisite to recording, not a subsequent obligation. The Henderson County Clerk’s guidance also sets out the $50.00 base deed recording fee and identifies the KRS §142.050 rate as the applicable transfer tax.
Henderson County Clerk: hendersoncountyclerk.org - Kentucky Department of Revenue — No Separate Transfer Tax Filing Form.
The Kentucky Department of Revenue does not administer the real estate transfer tax directly and does not publish a taxpayer-facing form for it. The transfer tax is entirely administered at the county level through the county clerk’s recording process. The Department does receive quarterly reports from county clerks (under KRS §142.050) and maintains oversight of compliance, but taxpayers have no direct obligation to the Department — their entire obligation is satisfied by payment to the county clerk at deed recording. DOR guidance on this subject can be found in the Department’s records retention and taxation guidance documents.
Kentucky Department of Revenue: revenue.ky.gov - Wayne County Clerk Fee Schedule — $50 Base, $3 Per Page over 5.
Wayne County Clerk’s official fee schedule confirms deed recording fee of $50.00 for the first five pages and $3.00 for each additional page thereafter. Wayne County is a rural county in south-central Kentucky (county seat: Monticello) and represents the consistency of the $50/$3 structure outside of major urban counties. The confirmed schedule covers deeds only; other recorded instruments (mortgages, releases, assignments) may carry different fees. Current fee schedules should always be confirmed with the clerk directly before closing.
Wayne County Clerk fee schedule (official county records) - Floyd County Clerk Fee Schedule — $50 Base, $3 Per Page over 5 (Effective 1/1/2020).
Floyd County Clerk’s official fee schedule (effective January 1, 2020) confirms deed recording fee of $50.00 covering the first five pages, plus $3.00 for each page over five. Floyd County is located in eastern Kentucky’s coalfield region (county seat: Prestonsburg) and its confirmed schedule is one of the primary data points used to estimate recording fees for other Kentucky counties in the calculator. The effective date of 1/1/2020 underscores that fee schedules do update and should be re-confirmed periodically.
Floyd County Clerk fee schedule (official county records, eff. 1/1/2020) - Legislative History — KRS §142.050 Enacted 1968; Rate Unchanged.
The Kentucky real estate transfer tax was enacted in 1968 at the $0.50/$500 rate. Minor wording amendments occurred in 1970, 1974, and 1978. The exemption list was expanded in 1990 to add corporate reorganization provisions (subsections (h) and (i)), and further amended in 2005 to clarify merger/consolidation treatment. Trust-related exemptions were expanded in 2014. No legislative change has altered the base $0.50/$500 rate. This legislative stability makes Kentucky’s transfer tax one of the most predictable in the country — the rate has been unchanged for nearly 60 years. Any future rate changes would require an act of the Kentucky General Assembly amending Chapter 142.
Kentucky Legislature — Legislative Research Commission: apps.legislature.ky.gov
Disclaimer: This guide is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Kentucky’s real estate transfer tax is governed by KRS §142.050. Always confirm the current transfer tax rate and recording fees with the applicable county clerk or a licensed Kentucky real estate attorney before closing. Recording fee schedules are set by individual county clerks and may be updated at any time. The $50.00 base fee and $3.00 per-page fee shown in this guide are confirmed for Floyd, Wayne, Henderson, Bourbon, and Lewis counties as of 2026 and estimated for all other counties. Verify at kycountyclerk.org or directly with your county’s clerk’s office.